JPS6293125A - Parts housing recovering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To recover a housing surely by transferring a parts housing to the specified piling-up position according to the kind thereof after judging its kind while holding the parts housing so as to release a holding/transferring means after lowering the housing by the distance specified in advance to pile it up. CONSTITUTION:A parts housing 10 transferred by the supply conveyor 12a of a conveyor 12 is taken in at each work station 14 and then the housing 10 made empty is discharged on to a discharge conveyor 12b. The discharged housing 10 is shifted in the direction shown by an arrow and caught by the holding member 24 of a picking unit 18 and the judged of its kind. A slider 20 driven by a motor 19, according to the judged kind, transfers the housing 10 to the position of a conveyor 16 to recover. Next, a supporting bar 22 lowers gradually by the quantity specified by a motor 21 in advance and lets down the housing 10 to the specified position and then the holding member 24 releases the housing 10. Hereby, it is made possible to recover the housing 10 surely in a narrow work space.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention distinguishes different types of component storage boxes sent MQ to a predetermined position and stacks them at a component storage box stacking position for each type of component storage box. The present invention relates to a parts storage box recovery device.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in this type of parts storage box collection device, the height of the parts collection box stacking position to which a predetermined parts storage box is transferred is memorized in advance, and the parts storage boxes are moved all at once to that position. After descending, by releasing the gripping means that grips the parts storage box, the parts storage box is recovered to the stacking wheel position, and the height of the parts storage box or the newly stacked parts storage box stacking position is It was designed to rememorize the information and prepare for the next recovery operation.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, in the device in which the parts storage boxes are lowered all at once to the parts storage box stacking position, and the parts storage boxes are released and recovered at a pre-stored position, When a worker accidentally adds or removes a parts storage box from the stacked position, the parts storage box to be collected may collide with the parts storage box at the stacked position. There is a risk that the component storage box or the gripping means may be damaged due to the component storage box being released and falling at a position that cannot reach the component storage box in the stacked position.

Furthermore, since it is necessary to memorize the height of the stacking position for each type of component storage box, there is a problem that the program for controlling the gripping means becomes complicated.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and aims to provide a safe and economical parts storage box recovery device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a discriminating means for discriminating the storage box and a discriminating means for discriminating the storage box on the gripping means for removably gripping the component storage box. Detection means for generating a detection signal when a box is stacked in the stacking position is provided, a transfer means for moving and displacing the gripping means, and control means for controlling the transfer means and the gripping means. is provided.

[Operation] According to the present invention, with the above-described configuration, after the parts storage box transported to a predetermined position is gripped by the gripping means, the type of the storage box is determined by the determining means, and the transporting means selects a predetermined one according to the type. When the storage boxes are moved to the component storage box stacking position and lowered by a predetermined amount of descent to be stacked at the stacking position, the detection means generates a detection signal and the gripping means releases the storage boxes. The transfer means and the gripping means are controlled by the control means to collect the parts storage box.

[Embodiment] An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a parts assembly line will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the parts assembly line is equipped with a conveyor 12 capable of transporting six types of parts storage boxes 10 containing a plurality of parts of the same type in one direction.
On one side, six types of workstations 14 are arranged, each of which performs a predetermined assembly operation.

The conveyor 12 is supplied with a parts storage box O storing parts from the lower left side in FIG.
A supply conveyor 1 that supplies predetermined parts storage boxes 10 to 4.
2a, and an empty parts storage box 10 disposed below the conveyor 12a and discharged from the workstation 14.
and a discharge conveyor 12b that transports the parts to the parts storage box collection position on the upper right side. The workstation 14 also has a parts storage π1 supplied on its upper surface.
10 can be placed therein, and the parts are taken out one by one from inside the parts storage box 10 by a parts take-out machine (not shown) of an assembly device (not shown). One parts storage box 10 from which all parts have been taken out
is lowered by a slider (not shown) and discharged onto the discharge conveyor 12b.

On one side of the upper right side of the discharge conveyor 12b shown in FIG.
6 are arranged in six rows, and the collection conveyor 16 operates to constantly transport the parts storage N10 stacked thereon toward the upper right side in FIG. Further, a stopper (not shown) is provided on the left front side of the recovery conveyor 16 to keep the component storage boxes 10 in the stacked position, and a predetermined number of component storage boxes 10 are stacked. The stopper is released only when the collection conveyor 16 transports the paper to the upper right.

Picking units 1 to 18 in the shape of downward facing openings are disposed above the part storage box stacking car position of the collection conveyor 16, and a slider 20 is disposed on the upper surface thereof.

The slider 20 is moved parallel to the upper surface of the parts storage boxes 10 stacked on the recovery conveyor 16 and in the transfer direction of the conveyor 16 by a slider motor 19 attached to its side surface and rotatable in both forward and reverse directions. It is configured to be able to reciprocate in orthogonal directions.

A support rod 22 having an axis perpendicular to the upper surface of the component storage box 10 is supported on the slider 20 so as to be movable. It is configured to be moved up and down by a support rod 21. Also, at the lower end of the support rod 22,
A gripping member 24 that removably grips the component storage box 10 is attached.

The gripping member 24, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4,
a support plate 26 fixed to the lower end of the support rod 22;
Fingers 28 having two gripping portions 28a at their lower ends for removably gripping the component storage box 10 are rotatably supported on the two opposing left and right sides of FIG. 2 of the support plate 26, respectively. There is.

Further, two fingers 29 each having a saw-shaped lower end are rotatably supported on two opposing front and rear sides of the support plate 26 in FIG. , are respectively connected to six finger air cylinders 30 arranged on the support part 26.

As shown in FIG. 4, at the four corners of the support plate 26, Jffi movable rods 34, each having a contact portion 32 at the lower end that contacts the upper surface of the component storage box 10, are mounted on the support plate 26 and the support plate 26. It is vertically slidably supported by four locking portions vI36 fixed to.

Further, a coil spring 38 is wound between the support plate 26 on the active a-rad 34 and the contact portion 32, and always urges the sliding rod 34 downward.

A dog 42 is attached to the upper end of the sliding rod 34 so as to protrude toward the finger 28 side, and a dog 42 is mounted on the support plate 26 on the inner side thereof. A limit switch 44 that is turned off is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, a vertical plate 46 is fixed to the front side of the support plate 26 perpendicularly to the upper surface of the support plate 26, and the vertical plate 46 has two pieces fixed to the front surface thereof. Each air cylinder 5 is
0 is attached.

A substantially T-shaped holding plate 54 is disposed below the air cylinder 50 via a slider 52 that is slidably supported on the front surface of the vertical plate 46, and one end of the piston portion 56 of the air cylinder 50 is connected to the It is fixed to a holding plate 54.

At the upper end of the holding plate 54, four proximity sensors 58 for identifying component storage boxes are arranged parallel to the upper surface of the supporting plate 26, and on the inner side thereof, there are four proximity sensors 58 that can move up and down. A sliding rod 60 is provided. A head 62 having a slightly larger diameter than the tongue rod 60 is attached to the upper end of the sliding rod 60, and a concave-convex portion provided inside the component storage box 10 is attached to the lower end of the head 62. A contact portion 66 that contacts the contact portion 64 is attached.A coil spring 68 is wound between the retaining plate 54 on the sliding rod 60 and the contact portion 66, and normally holds the sliding rod 60 downward. It is strong.

Furthermore, a stopper member 70 into which a sliding rod 60 is inserted is fixed on the holding plate 54 (see FIG. 5), and the head 62 of the sliding rod 60 is always in contact to maintain its position. It is supposed to be done.

A locking piece 72 (see FIG. 3) is provided on the support plate 26 at a position facing the vertical plate 46 and protrudes inward from the support plate 26. locking plate 74
A component storage box confirmation proximity sensor 76 is disposed above to check whether the component storage box 10 is present. A sliding rod 78 is supported by the locking piece 72 so as to be movable up and down along an axis perpendicular to the upper surface of the support plate 26 (see FIG. 7). At the upper end of the sliding rod 78 is a head 8 having a slightly larger diameter than the sliding rod 78.
0 is attached, and a parts storage box 1 is attached to the bottom end.
A contact portion 82 that comes into contact with the top surface of 0 is removed. A coil spring 83 is wound between the locking piece 72 on the sliding rod 78 and the contact portion 82, and normally urges the sliding rod 78 downward, as shown in FIG. It is held so as to protrude downward from the position.

Two downward-facing abbreviated guide plates 84 (see FIG. 4) are provided on each of the four sides of the support plate 26 on its lower surface, and an outwardly inclined slope is formed at the lower end of the guide plate 84. Surface 86
This allows the positioning of the component storage box 10 to be gripped.

The parts storage box confirmation sensor 76 and the discrimination sensor 5
8 and limit switch 44, as shown in FIG.
The motor 21, the finger air cylinder 30. It is configured to operate the air cylinder 50 and the slider motor 19.

The microcomputer 90 includes a central processing unit (
It is composed of a CPU 92 (hereinafter referred to as a CPU) and a memory 94 in which various data such as control programs are stored. A collection command detection switch 96 disposed near the parts storage box collection position on the collection conveyor 16 is connected to the CPU 92, and when the parts storage box 10 is transported to the collection position, the collection command detection switch 96 is activated. It is configured so that when activated, its detection signal is input to CPtJ92.

As shown in FIG. 9, the parts storage box 10 collected by this parts storage box collection device has a slight edge 100 on the upper edge.
A parts storage member 106 made of expanded polystyrene and having 46 through holes 104 in which parts (not shown) are stored at equal intervals is fixed to a plastic machine frame 102 having a shape. Further, on one side of the component storage member 106, a different combination of uneven portions 64 is provided for each of the six types of component storage boxes 10.
is provided, and the four sliding rods 6 are provided in the uneven portion 64.
The component storage box 10 is determined by determining which of the contact portions 66 of the component storage box 10 is contacted.

Note that the parts storage box 10 has a height of 3
Types (a, b, c) are prepared, and the height relationship is a>b>c.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flow chart L1 in FIG.

First, when the parts assembly line is started and the CPU 92 is activated with the gripping member 24 positioned above the parts storage box collecting position of the discharge conveyor 12b, in step S1, the parts storage box collection position of the discharge conveyor 12b is started. It is checked whether there is a detection signal from the collection command detection switch 96 that is output when the parts storage box 10 reaches the position.

Note that when all the parts are taken out from the parts storage box 10 at any one location of each workstation 14, the parts storage box 10 is discharged onto the discharge conveyor 12b,
It is transported in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Here, when the parts storage box "0" transferred in the direction of the arrow reaches the parts storage box collection position, the collection command detection switch 96 is activated and its detection signal is input to the CPU 92.

Next, based on the detection signal, the CPU 92 performs step S2.
is executed, the motor 21 is driven in the forward direction to lower the support rod 22 toward the parts storage box collection position of the discharge conveyor 12b, and the part storage box 10 of height a is gripped at the gripping position. Position the member 24. Next, in step S3, it is determined whether or not the proximity sensor 76 for checking the parts storage box is turned on. If it is not turned on, step S4 is executed, and the motor 21 is driven to lower the support rod 22 slightly. At the same time, the gripping member 24 is positioned at the component storage box gripping position at height b.

Next, in step S5, the same determination as in step S3 is made, and if it is not turned on, step S6 is executed to drive the motor 21 to slightly lower the support rod 22 and move the gripping member 24 to the height C. Position the parts storage box at the gripping position. Furthermore, toward step S7, the step S
The same determination as in step 3 is made, and if it is not turned on, step S8
This will turn on the warning lamp and temporarily stop the assembly line.

Said step S3. In S5 and S7, as shown in FIG. 7, when the proximity sensor 76 for checking the parts storage box is turned on, step S9 is executed, and the fin force air cylinder 30 moves the fingers 28° 29 to 28° as shown in FIG. It rotates from the inactive position shown by the dotted chain line to the active position shown by the solid line, and grips the parts storage box 10.

At this time, parts storage box 1 has reached the parts storage box collection position.
Even if 0 is slightly shifted in the horizontal direction, the edge 100 of the parts storage box 10 is positioned along the slope 86 of the guide plate 84, so the gripping member 24 can securely hold the parts storage box 10. be grasped.

After that, step S10 is executed, and the air cylinder 50
When the holding plate 54 is lowered together with the slider 52 from the 4-[ position shown in FIG. 2 to the operating position shown in FIGS. The one learning rod 60 that comes into contact with the convex part of the uneven part 64 of the parts storage box 10 is slid from the position shown by the two-dot chain line to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, and the parts storage box is discriminated. The proximity sensor 58 is turned on. Further, due to the combination of the proximity sensor 58 being turned on, the parts storage box 10
The type is determined and the result is stored in a predetermined area in the memory 94.

Next, step S11 is executed, in which the air cylinder 50 raises the holding plate 54 in the opposite direction, returns the sliding rod 60 to its original position, and drives the motor 21 in the opposite direction to support it. Raise the rod 22. Step S12 is then executed, and the slider motor 19 is driven in the forward direction to move the slider 20 to the right in FIG.
The gripping member 24 is positioned above a predetermined component storage box stacking position according to the type of the component storage box.

Thereafter, step 313 is executed, and the motor 21 is intermittently driven in the forward direction to lower the gripping member 24 by a lowering amount corresponding to the height of one component storage box 10. At this time, in each lowering position of the gripping member 24, at any position in the lowering process, the component storage box 10 gripped by the gripping member 24 is stacked on top of the component storage box 10 stacked at the component storage box stacking position. gripping member 2 from the position where
4 or slightly lowered. Next, in step 514, detection of the limit switch 44 is output when the component storage box 10 gripped by the gripping member 24 comes into contact with the edge 100 of the component storage box O stacked at the component storage box stacking position. Perform UK confirmation to see if there is a signal. Here, the gripped parts storage box 1
0 comes into contact with the edge 100 of the component storage box 10 in the stacked position, the contact portion 32 of the 1 biasing rod 34 is slightly pushed upward by the edge 100 of the component storage box 10 against the biasing force of the coil spring 38. is pressed, the dog 42 operates the limit switch 44, and its detection signal is input to the CPU 92. Step S15 is executed according to the input signal, and the fin force air cylinder 30 is actuated to move the finger 2.
8.29 is rotated from the working position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 to the non-working position shown by the two-dot chain line, and the parts storage box 40 is released.

Next, step 316 is executed, and the motor 21 is driven in the opposite direction to raise the support rod 22.

Furthermore, step S17 is executed, and the slider motor 19
is driven in the opposite direction to avoid moving the slider 20 to the left in FIG. 1, and the gripping member 24 is placed on standby above the parts storage box collection position of the discharge conveyor 12b.

In step 314, when the component storage box 10 is lowered by the height of one component from the state where the gripping member 24 has been moved above the predetermined component stacking position, the detection signal of the limit switch 44 is detected. When this happens, it is determined that the parts storage box 10 is at the correct stacking position, and the stopper (the knee shown in the figure) is released and the collection conveyor 16 transports the parts storage box 10 to one end thereof.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, the present invention allows the parts storage box gripped by the gripping means to be lowered by a predetermined distance m depending on the type of the parts storage box.
Since the parts storage box can be loaded in a predetermined position by lowering the car one step at a time, there is no need to memorize the height of the parts storage box stacking handle position, and the parts storage box can be collected reliably and safely. Make the most of your efforts.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a parts assembly line embodying the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view showing a gripping member, Fig. 3 is a top view of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a right side view of Fig. 2. Figure 5 is 5-5 in Figure 2 showing the operating state of the proximity lenser for identifying parts storage boxes.
6 is a view taken from the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view showing the operating state of the proximity sensor for checking the parts storage box, and FIG. 8 is a diagram of the present embodiment. A block diagram showing the circuit configuration, FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the parts storage box, and FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration.
The figure is a flowchart for explaining the operation. In the figure, 10 is a parts storage box, 18 is a picking unit,
19 is a slider motor, 20 is a slider, 21 is a motor, 22 is a support rod, 24 is a gripping member, 44 is a limit switch, 58 is a Renner for identifying a component storage box, and 90 is a microcomputer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A parts storage box collection device that distinguishes different types of parts storage boxes (10) transported to a predetermined position, and collects the parts storage boxes (10) by stacking them at a parts storage box stacking position for each type. , a gripping means (24) for removably gripping the parts storage box (10); and a gripping means (24) disposed on the gripping means (24),
) for determining the type of the component storage box (10);
4) and moving means (18, 19, 20, 21, 22) for moving the gripping means (24) up and down in the stacking position of the component storage boxes; and its gripping means (2
detecting means (4) for generating a detection signal when the component storage boxes (10) are stacked at the stacking position according to the method (4);
4) and the parts storage box (10) at the parts storage box stacking position.
When stacking the parts, the holding means (24) is lowered by a predetermined lowering amount according to the type of the component storage box (10) determined by the determining means (58, 90);
the transfer means (18, 19, 20, 21, 22) such that when the detection means (44) generates a detection signal, the gripping means (24) releases the parts storage box (10);
and a control means (90) for controlling the gripping means (24).